People Change
by CBowskill
Summary: PLEASE R AND R - Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts after Voldemort's death,and many things have changed, including someone they never thought could. Will one of them develop feelings for the enemy? And is that person really their enemy...anymore?
1. Never say never

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Just to warn you guys, this is my first ever story on here, I'm hoping you'll like it, please R + R if you can, I appreciate all the feedback - positive + negative. Currently nearing the end of exams so may not be speedy updating chapters, but will try my best. Also if anyone spots any grammar/spelling mistakes please let me know. Let me know what you think! Thanks.

1. Never say never

Staring out of the window across the grounds of Hogwarts from the Entrance Hall, Draco felt more alone than he usually did. His mother had fled the country after the shame his father had brought to the Malfoy family name with his involvement in Muggle and wizard murders. He was in locked up in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, and would probably be there until he withered away from contact with the dementors. Crabbe and Goyle, his former lackeys, were now either dead or fleeing from the Ministry's Aurors. Not that he cared for either of them; they had always only been pawns to him. He had made so many mistakes in the last few years; becoming a Death Eater, following every command his father and the Dark Lord had given him, and not standing up against what he knew was wrong. His home had been taken away from him, and now all he had left was Hogwarts. It had been his only true home since he had left Malfoy Manor at the beginning of his first year of school.

Getting back into the normal school routine had been difficult - if it could be called a normal routine. Dumbledore was gone, killed by Snape, who had then been killed by Voldemort's snake companion Nagini. Several other teachers wandered the corridors with wounds still healing and hexes that Madam Pomfrey was working on reversing. The number of students that normally attended the school had diminished slightly - some dead, some injured, some mourning. Others were just fleeing with their Death Eater families, ashamed at their actions and afraid to show their faces in the wizarding community. Malfoy was the only one to return with his head held high, and he intended to make up for the pain he had caused. And he knew where he was going to start - there was someone he'd treated worse than anyone else.

Sitting on her bed in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, Hermione Granger was reading through the speech she was giving to the school that evening. The sun was shining through the windows, onto the other sleeping girls in the room, who had arrived the night before along with Hermione herself. None of them had seen the destruction caused by the war; they had been escorted out of Hogwarts before the fighting had begun by Aberforth Dumbledore, the late headmaster's estranged brother. They had not seen the bodies, knocked down by Death Eaters, lying in the hallways that now had been cleaned and restored to their original state. They had returned to Hogwarts with no horrifying memories, no personal grief for those lost. Hermione wished she had been one of them, one of the naive girls who were able to sleep well at night. She had not slept well for weeks.

Stepping out of her bed, she quietly crept to her wardrobe and dressed ready for the assembly Headmistress McGonagall had organized for the start of this year, her eighth and final year, at Hogwarts. Sneaking out of the dormitory, not normally something Hermione did, she made her way out of the Gryffindor common room, waking up the Fat Lady as she went.

"…Miss Granger…do you know that its only 6am? The Headmistress herself isn't even awake yet…Miss Granger…MISS GRANGER!" The Fat Lady bellowed at Hermione's back.

"Don't worry, I'm just having a wander of the grounds. It's been a while since I've been here, and I start my Head Girl duties tomorrow, so I just want to spend some time to myself."

In the late afternoon, after a day spent exploring the grounds and remembering all of the people that had been lost in the battle that had happened in the grounds only a matter of months ago, Hermione entered the Entrance Hall, which was, for once, deserted. Students would be unpacking their belongings and catching up with friends, having just arrived at Hogwarts the day before. She made herself comfortable on the bottom step of the grand staircase, her robe gathered around her to keep the warmth in. As she read through her speech, there was a slight rustling from the other side of the hall, and the Gryffindor flinched, starting up to see who else could possibly be awake this early.

"Don't worry, Granger, it's just me. I need to talk to you." The tall blond Slytherin emerged from the other side of the hall, walking slowly towards Hermione.

"What would make you think that I would ever speak to you again? I don't even know how you dare to show your face here, disgusting Death Eater."

Draco flinched at Hermione's words, and physically recoiled at the death glare she was giving him with her deep brown eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry…. I've come back here to make amends. Amends with the school, amends with all of my father's victims, and mostly amends with you, Potter and the Weasel."

"I think it's going to take more than that, Malfoy. You are your father's son through and through. What's to stop me hexing you right here? You deserve it after all."

"Well first of all the fact that I'm a better dueler than you, always have been, always will be. I've been trained by the best…the best of the worst; I'm ashamed to say. I wouldn't want to hurt you…Hermione."

Hearing him call her Hermione made her train of thought screech to a halt. Had he just called her Hermione? Where were the "Mudblood" taunts, the "Dirty-blood-Granger" chants?

"I've been working with the Auror Office, and Potter, all summer rounding up Death Eaters that fled after the Dark Lord was defeated…if you don't believe me, ask him! I'm working for the right side now, Granger. I know what's right and I want to show you that I'm different now."

He daren't say her name again; just letting it slip past his lips had been a mistake. He had so badly wanted to mutter her name that he had forgotten how she would react. She was glaring at him more than before, muttering to herself. Clearly she hated him, and it tore him up inside. He moved closer to her, as she backed away. Again he moved closer, and again she put distance between them, turning the awkward situation into some sort of strange dance. Finally her back hit the wall and she had nowhere to go, she was stuck. Not afraid of him - she knew how to take care of herself, she'd had to do it enough times, but she was stuck nonetheless. Clearly she was going to have to hear him out. She noticed the change in his eyes, and for a moment started to hope that what he was saying was true - as badly as he had behaved and treated so many people, Harry had told her of the work he'd done with Draco over the past few months.

"Look, Granger…" Draco was only a foot away from her, and he began to take in the small details of Hermione's body that he had never noticed before. Like the way her face glowed when she was angry, brightening her skin and making her look more alive than any woman he had ever seen before. And how elegant her frame was, despite the fact that every time Madam Hooch had made them practice flying their brooms, she acted as if she wasn't in control of her own body. "Look, Granger, I'm a different man now, and I want to prove it to you. I want to be…your friend."

Hermione went blank. Her mind had not been prepared for this…Draco wanting to be her friend? He had hated her for seven long years, taunted her, bullied her, and as he came into his Death Eater years, watched as his aunt had tortured her with a knife in his own house. He had clearly wanted to do something to help but hadn't dared defy the Dark Lord's commands. At least he had not sniggered and teased, as Bellatrix had done as she had cut Hermione to get the truth from her. Just thinking back to the incident in the Malfoy Manor made the scar on her neck (from the knife) burn. Her hand flew up to the mark, and Draco noticed and flushed bright red.

"My aunt deserved what she had coming to her. You didn't, and I'm sorry."

Hermione felt that something inside Draco had changed. The arrogance behind his eyes had disappeared, not totally - he still retained some of his boyish cockiness, but the weight of his actions of the past year seemed to have straightened him up. She had never been this close to him, and she saw how his eyes were not dull, as she had imagined they would be, but sharp and bright, an ocean-grey. His shoulders were broad and strong, clearly strengthened by his Seeker training. In fact, she would have described Draco as handsome, gorgeous even, if she didn't hate him.

Snapping out of her trance, Hermione pushed Draco backwards, away from her. The contact between them was shocking at first, to both of them, but Hermione let her hand fall and turned on her heels, walking swiftly away from him. She turned back just once back to him, to mutter:

"I'm never going to be your friend, Draco."


	2. You'd better believe it

Again, sorry guys but this is my first attempt at a story and I may not be so good - please R + R if you can. Let me know if you see any spelling mistakes, or if my plot is confusing you in anyway.

2. You'd better believe it

"We've all had a devastating year, we've all lost someone. Please try to support each other in this hard time, and remember that Hogwarts will always be here. Dumbledore would have wanted us to carry on…"

A tear trickled down the new Headmistress's face at the memory of her old friend, the late, great Dumbledore. She was wearing a robe of deep black velvet, in mourning for her predecessor, as all of the teachers sat behind her at the Staff table were.

"And now to make some short announcements, and a brief speech, our Head Girl for this year, Hermione Granger." Waving a hand in the direction of the Gryffindor table, McGonagall summoned Hermione to the front. It was time for her first act as Head Girl. The shiny new badge announcing her position of authority gleamed on her robes.

"Hi, everyone. First I have some announcements from Mr. Filch. The third, fourth and fifth year Ravenclaw dormitories have been moved to the Room of Requirement until the structural repairs are carried out, which should be the end of the week. Please don't try to get back into your old dormitories, as you'll notice there's a large drop and Madam Pomfrey has enough on her plate at the moment, I think we can all agree. Also a barrier has been set up around the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw next to the common room entrance, apparently she keeps falling over - so watch out. All prefects, you know who you are, need to report to the Head Boy and I after this assembly. And while I'm on the subject - Headmistress McGonagall will be revealing who received the Head Boy position after my announcements. Mr. Filch has also asked that all students stop leaving Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products around the corridors after they've been used - especially old Decoy Detonators - just because you've used them once doesn't mean they'll stop exploding every now and then."

A murmur of giggles went around the hall as students imagined Filch cleaning up the exploding joke items, Mrs. Norris's whiskers becoming blackened from playing with them.

" I just have a few more words to say and then I'll hand you back to the Headmistress. I had a speech prepared, but instead I'm just going to say what I think is important. I want to let you all know that although we are all here to learn…or teach." She smiled at the staff sitting behind her. " Hogwarts is your home, and your family. Despite what has happened over the past year, you will be safe here. We are all a family, and we look after each other. Some of you may have lost family members recently, and I am so sorry for your losses. This year I had to perform the Obliviate charm on my parents to keep them from harm, and as some of you may know, this charm is irreversible. My parents don't know who I am. They have no memory of my birth, my life. They don't know what I look like, what I sound like when I speak. They can't remember the first word I said, the first time I walked, the first time they held me in their arms. I don't have any other family. My parents were all I had. But even though I have lost them, I don't feel alone. I don't feel alone because I have Hogwarts, and I have all of you. Thank you for listening."

Stepping down from the platform, Hermione looked round at the house tables. Suddenly applause filled the lofty room, and Hermione was surrounded by students of all houses, all ages and all backgrounds offering their support. She noticed Draco in the back corner, and he smiled, and then winked, at her.

Oh god, what did I just do? A wink! I just winked at Hermione Granger, Draco thought. She's going to think I'm such a sadistic little sod now.

Stepping back up to the platform, the Headmistress congratulated Hermione on her post of Head Girl and her words of wisdom. She clapped twice and the tables filled with golden trays of steaming hot food - roasted meats, vegetables, and desserts as far as the eye could see. Goblets that refilled themselves popped into existence in front of the students. McGonagall settled into her seat at the middle of the Staff table and began conversing with Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch about the start of the school year. Both were looking forward to getting back to teaching, following the year of war.

Eventually, the goblets were drained and the trays of food emptied. McGonagall clapped again, and the house elves magically cleared away all of the dishes. The Sorting ceremony had gone without a hitch this year, and the Sorting Hat sat solemnly on the chair next to the podium, which the Headmistress stepped up to now, to make her last announcement of the night.

"And now, the last thing I need to tell you is that your Head Boy for this year, is…. Draco Malfoy!"

The room was silent, as people tried to figure out if the Headmistress was joking. Surely Malfoy wasn't the Head Boy? He was a known Death Eater, and was involved in Dumbledore's death. Everyone at the school hated him, even his own house - what remained of it, the Slytherin table was looking comparatively empty this year. After a couple of minutes of silence, in which McGonagall had expected some sort of applause, even if only very short, students started to realize this was not a joke. Hermione's face had gone white….she was to be sharing a dormitory with Malfoy, and would be working with him constantly in her Head Girl capacity. They would have to spend almost every waking moment with each other. The room was again filled with noise, however not the applause that had been heard after Hermione's speech - this time students were booing and hissing at Malfoy, who obviously was not a popular choice for Head Boy.

"Stop it."

Some students, surprised at this voice, which did not belong to the Headmistress, stopped their boo's and hisses to look around for the source of this voice. Others continued, not caring who was standing up for Slytherin, prompting Harry Potter to stand up on the Gryffindor House table and, this time, bellow "STOP IT", silencing everyone in the hall immediately.

"I didn't think I'd ever say this, but Malfoy doesn't deserve to be treated like that. You're all so stupid. He's not behaved perfectly over the last year…or any of his years at Hogwarts, to be honest. He at one time or another will probably have hexed most of you in this room. I can't count the number of times I've fought him. But over this summer, Malfoy has admitted his mistakes and has spent time helping me and the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic clean up the mess that has happened in the last year or so. None of you know the full story, so just shut up."

Harry was very angry. He and his friends had been treated worse than anyone else by Malfoy, but his help in putting the remaining Death Eaters into Azkaban, in Harry's opinion, made up for the bullying at school that people had endured under his rule. Yes, he had been a Death Eater, but he'd never killed or maimed anyone - he'd backed out of killing Dumbledore because he knew it was wrong. It wasn't his fault that Snape had stepped in and done Malfoy's job for him. He'd been the leader on the raid on Hogwarts by the Death Eaters, which had caused Dumbledore's death, but after seeing the devastation his fellow Death Eaters were causing, Malfoy had turned around and started fighting against them. He had fought next to Harry's side and earned back the respect that Harry had never really had for him.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. But I would ask that you don't stand on the House Tables, it just makes more work for the House-Elves. And its very ungainly an action for a war hero. What you say, however, is true. Malfoy has been given the place of Head Boy for his extreme courage in difficult situations and for realizing that his actions were wrong. He has proved his worth. Now everyone, back to your common rooms - and no more disrespecting your new Head Boy. Good night, students."

With this, the staff filed out of the hall to their respective private quarters, and, for the first time, McGonagall to the Headmistress' office. Nobody had been into the room since Dumbledore had died, except from Snape in his brief stint as Headmaster under Voldemort's rule. The students followed them out of the hall, the Slytherins down to the dungeons, the Ravenclaws to the Room of Requirement and the others to their common rooms.

"The prefects are waiting for us, Granger…" Draco sheepishly said to Hermione.

"I know, Draco. Look, I'm not happy about this ok, but after what Harry said….I want to apologize for what I said to you this morning. You're right, you have changed. So I'm giving you one chance. To prove that you've changed, and that you're a good guy now. So don't disappoint me."

Draco smiled at her; amazed that someone he had hurt so much could be so kind and forgiving. "That means a lot Hermione. I've been an absolute git to you over the years. I won't disappoint you, wouldn't want to face the wrath of the Granger would I, eh?" Winking again, and hating himself for doing it, he held his hand out to her, a gesture of friendship. "Friends?"

"Well," Hermione laughed, and took Draco's hand, noticing how soft and warm it felt, "I suppose we're going to have to be. We're roomies now."


	3. What's happening to me?

So this chapter is a bit different from the others, you'll see why. As usual, please R + R, I want to know what you really think, whether its a bit too smutty so early on – please let me know your thoughts! Also, I finish my exams on Wednesday, and these three chapters had already been written a while ago, so give me some time to write the next one. Should be up within a few days. Thanks people!

3. What's happening to me?

The door in the next room slammed, making Draco drop the book he was reading, "Wizarding Wonders and How to Accomplish Your Own" by Familda Forncop. He hurried into the common room that joined his and Hermione's rooms, looking around for her. She had justcome in, and was clearly in a bad mood, sitting on the plush sofa in the middle of the room, her arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes staring at the flames in the fireplace as though she wished she could throw someone into them.

"What's wrong, Granger?" Draco had not meant to sound so concerned.

"Oh, for god's sake, Draco…would you stop calling me Granger? My name is Hermione. I am a girl and my name is Hermione. Say it with me, Her-mi-o-ne! Hermione! Ok? Boys might be fine calling each other by their last names, but I prefer being referred to by my actual name."

"Woah! Someone's got her panties in a twist! Sorry, HERMIONE. I won't forget again, HERMIONE. Now what's wrong really, HERMIONE? Because it certainly can't just be me, for once." He tried to put the image of her panties out of his mind.

He stepped towards the coach and lowered himself so he was sitting next to her, closer than he thought she'd allow, but he liked the proximity. He could smell her perfume, and feel her hot, heavy breathing as she kept sighing at whatever was annoying her.

"Right, well, you know how I'm quite clever?"

Draco snorted at this comment. "I think you're underestimating yourself a little there, Hermione. You're the cleverest girl I know.."

"Thanks," Hermione blushed, immediately realising who she was blushing at, and calmed herself. This was Draco Malfoy after all, the thought of anything happening between them, well it was wrong.

"Well some people seem to think that, just because they have a clever friend, it means they never have to work and they can just drop it all onto me. I'm not a computer who can just do the work in a matter of seconds and then be done and move onto something else, it still involves a lot of work, and I…"

"Granger...I mean Hermione, what's a com-put-er?"

Living in the Muggle world during the holidays meant that Hermione was a part of both worlds, the wizarding world, and the non-wizarding world. Some people, however, had been brought up by wizards, like Malfoy who was from a pure-blood wizarding family, and Ron, and so they were not familiar with Muggle inventions like telephones, computers, televisions….the list was long.

"Oh, yeah...sorry Malfoy. It's just a sort of electrical thing that can work out things for you, like calculations and you can use the internet on it..."

"Erm...the in-terr-net? What's that?" Draco was getting more and more confused by the second. Hermione thought the confused look on his face was rather adorable.

Did I really just refer to Draco in my own head as adorable...Oh my...This is so wrong. He's a Slytherin, he's my best friend's arch-nemesis...and he's Draco!

"Oh, it doesn't matter Draco, I mean – Malfoy. Well Professor Flitwick has set us a 3 foot essay on a charm of our choice – and Ron's just given me his essay to do – and it's due to be handed in tomorrow, and I have three other essays to write tonight, and I just don't get how Ron thinks he can do this, and..."

Draco slid his arm around her shoulders, hoping to relax her. He hated it when the Weasel did things like this to her. She wasn't his friend to be used and abused, she was a beautiful intelligent woman, and, Draco thought, she looked absolutely gorgeous when she was angry. Best of all, in her anger she had slid down the couch and her skirt had slid up slightly, revealing her toned thighs...Draco's eyes wandered down to them and he wished he could summon the courage to touch the soft skin her skirt had revealed.

Feeling Draco's warm arm slung around her shoulders, Hermione felt her heart start to beat faster. Only just now did she see how close they were sitting, how warm his muscly bicep felt against her neck, how if she moved her hand just a little to the side she would be touching his gorgeous legs. Sneaking a peek up to his face she saw how dark and lustful his eyes had become, staring down at the floor – or what she thought was the floor. She followed his gaze and saw that her skirt was riding up a little too far, showing off her trimmed legs. Hermione had summoned some exercise equipment to her room next-door when she had moved in – convincing herself that losing weight was good for her health, but secretly hoping to impress a certain Slytherin with her new body.

"Erm, Draco, get your arm off of me! What do you think we are, best buddies all of a sudden? Ew!" Faking disgust, Hermione stood up from the couch and stormed into her room, leaving Draco sat on the couch wondering what had just happened. He thought they'd been getting closer, he had even been considering asking her to go to Hogsmeade with her on the school trip that weekend.

Draco had dreamt of taking Hermione shopping, buying her everything she wanted – he had of course taken over the Malfoy family wealth after his aunt and his father were no longer around, his mother passing the opportunity down to her son in hopes that he would stay at home longer with her to keep her company. They would have gone for some warm drinks in the Three Broomsticks, at a table close to the roaring fire so he could see the warmth rising in her face, the glow that he loved so much. After that he would have walked her back to the grounds, holding her hand tightly if she would have allowed him to and waiting for any opportunity to push her up against a wall somewhere and place his lips against hers, so soft and wet...he'd been secretly admiring them for days. A year ago he would have banished thoughts about her from his mind, she was a Mudblood after all, but now he couldn't help himself. Several times he had caught her (sometimes on purpose) on her way for a shower in the Head's bathroom, wearing her nightwear. His favourite was the purple silk dress that clearly had been bought with ulterior motives – surely she wasn't just wearing it to feel nice in bed, she must be trying to seduce him.

Waking up from his daydream, Draco felt a pain in the arm he had wrapped around Hermione's shoulders and which he had not moved after she had left. He stood up from the couch, and walked back into his room, stiff in more ways than one.

From the other side of the door, Hermione heard Draco go into his room. She sighed and walked to her window, admiring the beautiful view of the Forbidden Forest, trying to immerse herself in the scenery of Hogwarts rather than think of him. She knew she felt nothing for Draco, he was just a friend – not even that, really. She'd had the occasional dream about him, rushing into her room and tearing her clothes off – but that was to be expected when spending so much time with somebody, surely? The lingerie she had bought recently had nothing to do with him, she had explained her purchase with the excuse that she had lost her parents, and would have to keep herself busy with work, and buying herself new clothes. The purple slip that she had spent far too much money on was just to make herself feel sexy, not to impress anyone. Although she had loved the look on Draco's face that night when he had caught her in it. She definitely hadn't counted on him being on the way to the bathroom as well, and catching glimpses of his eyes wandering over her body when they were both brushing their teeth that night in the bathroom, well that hadn't affected her at all. She might have gone to bed feeling very turned on, but that had nothing to do with him.

Hermione wasn't going to let anything happen with Malfoy, she knew that she found him attractive – mostly because of the personality change, but also because he had been doing more and more Quidditch practice and his muscles because of this were fantastic.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Hermione shouted to herself. She was going to have to learn to deal with living with him. They had all of their classes together, and Harry and Ron were in most of them as well – what would her friends think of her if they found out she liked a Slytherin.

"I like him? What?" Hermione fell back onto her bed. "What's happening to me?"

* * *

><p><p>

Meanwhile, in Draco's room, he was wondering what her favourite flowers were. "She seems like a girl who likes romancing, maybe I'll ask Potter what she likes. He'll help me, won't he?"

Realising that her friends would never help him, he fell back onto his bed in defeat. He was never going to have any luck with her. He liked her, and he wanted to do something nice to her.

"What's happening to me?"


	4. Daisies

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, I'll try to be more speedy with my updates! Hope you like. Please R + R if you can - only takes a minute, and it helps me figure out where you guys want the story to go.

4. Daisies

The next few weeks of term went quickly, and Hermione was consumed by her work, and some of Harry's and Ron's she obligingly took onto her plate. The pile of essays on her desk in the Head's common room never diminished, was constantly replaced by new assignments – the teachers were being as tough on the students as usual. Hermione spent most of her time, outside of classes, in the common room working; the library was her second home but was too busy at this time of year – plus in the common room, she was always bound to bump into Draco. He was very busy with Quidditch practice – he was captain of the Slytherin team this year, as well as Head Boy. With all of those responsibilities, and all of the work the professors were piling onto the students, Hermione was amazed at how he never looked stressed at all – he always looked perfectly cool and calm. How...impressive.

Tonight, Hermione was reaching the end of a never-ending ten-foot-long essay on the ethical dilemma of using Veritaserum on suspects in hearings in the Ministry of Magic – she had written a long, extensive prose on the subject, but she could feel her eyes drooping and her head settling onto her arm. It had been such a long day – what harm would a simple nap do now? Within seconds the overworked girl was dreaming. She didn't hear the door to the common room open, a dripping wet Draco entering the room smiling – Quidditch practice had gone well, even in the wet weather. He was feeling confident about his team this year. Drying himself with a quick swish of his wand, Draco spotted his exhausted room-mate, and smiled at the number of times he'd come back to this situation. She was pushing herself too hard.

Taking the dripping quill from her hand, Draco flicked off the stray drops of ink into the ink-well, and replaced her quill on the desk. He softly slid his hands under her back and lifted her to his chest, his other arm cradling her legs to his body. He was so cold from being outside in the crappy weather, that he was grateful for the warmth against him, even if only for a few seconds. Within seconds, Hermione was laying on her bed, her blanket wrapped around her, and Draco was about to shut the door to her room when he remembered something; that morning he had noticed her staring out of the Charms class window at some white daisies blowing in the breeze at the edge of the lake. She had been staring at them for so long, that she had nearly missed a major part of the class – this was so unusual for her that he realised she must really like the daisies.

After practice, Draco had taken a detour back to the castle past the lake, and gathered some of the daisies, tying them with a green satin ribbon. He placed them now next to her on the bed, hoping that in the morning she would wake to them and think of him. Just a thought of him – that's all he wanted, it was a start. A shiver passed through Draco's body, and he was reminded of how chilled his body was, so he ran swiftly to the Head's adjoining bathroom for a warm bath.

* * *

><p>Hermione was dreaming of a field full of flowers. She was walking through the flowers, stroking them and smelling their rich aromas. She didn't normally like flowers, but these were different. These were daisies. They were special to her – her father had given them to her mother every week. Hearing a rustle in the flowers behind her, Hermione turned around and smiled. It was him.<p>

"Thank you for the daisies."

* * *

><p>Waking with a start and sitting up, Hermione felt disorientated – she couldn't remember getting into bed, it wasn't too late yet, there was still plenty of time for work tonight. Leaning back on the bed, Hermione felt something soft touching her hand, and looked around to see the daisies which Draco had lain next to her. How sweet...Hermione lifted them to her face and smelled the sweetness of the flowers.<p>

"Oh, Draco."

She had never been given flowers by a boy, and she was surprised at how happy she was that Draco had found these and brought them for her. How had he known they were her favourite flowers? Hermione stifled a yawn, and decided against working anymore that night. She deserved a rest once in a while. Smelling the gorgeous flowers reminded Hermione of how much she had enjoyed the bath she'd had in the Head's bathroom on their first night at Hogwarts, and so she made her way into the bathroom.

Hermione flinched as she entered the bathroom. Someone had filled the huge bathtub set into the floor of the room with daisy petals, and water. The room itself was dark, but filled with many candles, filling the room with a scent that was so appealing to Hermione that she felt herself immediately drawn into the room. Standing in the doorway, she quickly stripped and slipped into the warm water, grateful to however had done this for her – the perfect way to relax.

* * *

><p>Draco was experimenting in the water, seeing how long he could hold his breath, when he saw a shadow across the doorway to Hermione's room. Silently lifting his head out of the water, he saw her standing on the other side of the room, smiling. He was about to say something inviting to her, when she started to undress, and immediately he felt himself harden. She had a perfect body – curves in all the right places, and soft, luminous skin. She moved towards the bath and slipped into the water, sighing and plunging underneath the water. When she emerged, Draco plucked up his courage and said,<p>

"Thought you'd join me, did you?"

* * *

><p>There was a splash, and a scream. Hermione had thought the bathtub was unoccupied – yet Draco had been in there, and now they were both naked, in the water. This was not a situation she thought would ever arise in their time as Head Boy and Girl.<p>

"What the hell, Draco! Why didn't you say something before I got in? Get out of here, you perv!" Hermione blushed from head to toe, and tried to cover as much of herself as she could.

"Look, I didn't realise you were taking your clothes off until...well, until you were taking your clothes off! What was I supposed to say! You should have checked the bathtub was free before just stripping and getting in here." Draco tried not to show his enjoyment too much – he had already had too much of an eyeful for Hermione's liking.

"I don't care now, just get out of here, Draco!"

"Well, I'm as naked as you are. I can't see anything now, and neither can you. So, I propose we both just stay here and leave at the same time. That's fair.."

Hermione had dreamt of this a few days ago, although, and she was ashamed to admit, she had been a lot closer to Draco. The urge to swim over to him and plant her lips to his was strong. She laughed.

"Something funny, Hermione?"

"Well, it's just how absurd this is. This situation, I mean. I didn't exactly want you seeing me naked."

Draco swallowed hard, and regretted the words that he knew he was going to say next, knowing she'd laugh him off.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You're gorgeous, Hermione."

She blushed, and muttered quietly, "Really?"

"I wouldn't lie to you."

Draco looked across the floating flowers into her dark, shadowed eyes. He reached out of the water to his wand, and flicked it at the candles, making them float now, a sea of stars above them. He felt a movement and looked down to the water, where Hermione had waded towards him. They were standing in the middle of the bathtub, flames dancing above them, daisies caressing their skin, staring into each others eyes.

"I can't believe how different you are, Draco. It's...you're...wonderful."

Hermione slid her hands under the water up his arms and placed them on his shoulders, pulling herself up to his height to look him straight in the face. She felt his hands slide around her waist, pulling her to him as he leaned his face to hers, closing his eyes and smiling.

"What are you smiling at?" Hermione giggled and leaned back from Draco's chest.

"At how beautiful you are. And how lucky I am to be here. I've treated you so badly, yet here you are."

Pulling herself back towards his face, Hermione closed her eyes and kissed softly along the strong, gorgeous Slytherin's jaw, then pressed her lips to his. Immediately he moved his lips against hers, parting hers and massaging her tongue with his.

What was she doing? What would her friends think? This was wrong. So many thoughts ran through Hermione's mind in the time she spent clinging to Draco, yet also in a small part of her brain she knew that if this was so wrong, why did it feel so right? They both felt that right here, right now...something real was happening. They were meant to be here.


	5. Blushing

A/N: Hi guys! So sorry about the wait for this chapter, and on my other story too (Something To Change Everything) – just returned from holiday and university. I'll try to make my chapters more frequent from now on, probably twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Hope you enjoy! Please R + R.

5. Blushing

Draco was woken by the warm feeling of the sun tumbling through the stained glass of his bedroom window onto his alabaster skin on the glorious morning that was the first of Hogwart's Christmas holidays. He had opted to stay at school for the holidays – after all, where else could he go? If he went home he would only have Multin, the new house-elf, to greet him, not the usual Christmas celebrations that he had gotten used to in the Malfoy Manor. His mother, he assumed, would be in another continent by now, thoughts of her only son abandoned at school during one of the most difficult phases of his life clearly not entering her head at all. She was a Malfoy through and through, selfish and resourceful. Instead he had decided to spend some time practising his Quidditch moves, perfecting his broom-riding and catching up with some essays. At least he'd have some company, even if the other students who were also sticking around for the few weeks until next term did hate him.

Stretching his thick, muscular arms and cracking his knuckles, Draco sat upright and immediately remembered the night he had been in the Head's bathroom with the Gryffindor Golden Girl, only two weeks ago. Not much more had happened than the exchange of kisses, but Draco was still glowing inwardly at the thought of her golden supple skin against his bare flesh. Since then, Hermione had been tense around him, blushing at everything he said, flinching every time they accidentally touched, and not speaking more than a handful of words to him. He knew this would be her reaction, after all she had hated him for so long that any other kinds of feelings would seem bizarre. She would want to forget it ever happened.

The blond Slytherin smirked and sighed, "Never going to happen Granger. You aren't forgetting me in a hurry."

* * *

><p><p>

Meanwhile, in the room mere metres away, Hermione was awoken by the loud purring of Crookshanks, at the foot of her bed. Again she had dreamed about Malfoy, and again she had woken with that low-down tickle. She knew that the whole evening spent with him had been a mistake, but she had never felt things for a boy like she had in that moment. It was as if, in that minute, her true emotions for him had bubbled to the surface and in the rush of feeling her body had taken over.

That night, Malfoy had made her gasp and moan by simply touching her, and when they had pulled away from each other and had nothing to say, they had spent ages just looking into each others' eyes. She had known then that there was more to him than there seemed on the surface. He was reformed, and he had changed. He was kind, and sweet. The things he had whispered to her that night she never would have guessed he would have said to her, even if they were the last two magical beings on the planet.

Even though he made her skin tingle and her heart leap, Hermione had avoided him as much as possible since then. She didn't want him to think he had any sway over her. They had an adjoining bathroom, so she obviously still bumped into him fairly frequently, but they weren't expected to carry out their Head Boy and Girl duties together, so when it came to patrols at night, Hermione stuck to areas that she knew Draco would avoid.

Hermione nestled back into her warm, cosy sheets and sighed deeply; today was another day she would have to hide her feelings for Draco away from the world, and more importantly from him. And it was going to be more difficult than ever that night. The remaining students who were at Hogwarts over the holidays were having a Christmas party, and Professor McGonagall had suggested it take place in the Head Boy and Girl's Common Room. Hermione and Draco would be hosting the party, together. Avoiding him would be near impossible.

* * *

><p><p>

Later that day, after a swift visit to Hogsmeade to collect her dress from the only store worth buying clothes from near to Hogwarts, Hermione stood quivering in a gorgeous deep purple, floor length gown. It was tight against her chest, and she could feel her heart beating hard against the soft material. The dress had long slits up the sides, occasionally revealing the smooth skin of her upper thighs. She had bought this dress secretly hoping to impress Draco, but had regretted it as soon as she slipped it on moments earlier – but she had to admit, she did look amazing. Resting on the post at the foot of her bed, Hermione slipped on the 3-inch black peep-toe shoes that she loved to wear, and moved her hair into place – she had tied up her shining brown hair into a simple up-do, with a single curled lock of hair hanging down and resting on her collarbone. As she stood to do a final check in the mirror, she was startled to see Draco in the reflection, standing in the doorway to her room. He came into her room and silently closed the door, gazing longingly at her beautiful figure.

"Absolutely stunning..." Draco's eyes wandered up and down the body that he had held close to his own recently.

Hermione was breathing heavily. This was the exact situation she had wanted to stay away from. She reached out for the silver chain necklace lying on her desk, and with shaking hands, attempted to do the clasp, failing due to how nervous she was. She couldn't help it, with him being in the room.

"Let me help you with that," Draco breathed into her ear, having somehow covered the distance between them almost completely silently. He reached around her neck, trailing a single finger down the flushed skin on her chest, took the necklace from her and quickly fixed the clasp for her.

The feel of his warm breath against the back of her neck, his hands on her skin, made Hermione blush deep read.

"I love it when you blush like that, Hermione. I love that I do that to you..." he whispered against her skin, sweeping down her neck and across her shoulder with light kisses. "And I love you in this dress, you look gorgeous."

He ran his hand between the layers of material along the side of her leg, between the slit of the dress. He heard her sigh quietly, and he chuckled. Immediately, Hermione turned round to him, and pushed hard against his chest, having no effect against the muscular Quidditch player, instead bringing herself closer to him, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pushing her to him.

"What do you want from me, Malfoy? I can't stand this, let me GO!" She hammered against his chest and dropped her head against his in defeat.

"You know there's something here, Hermmmm..." The rest of her name he turned into a moan as he kissed her neck softly, tasting her delicious skin.

Hermione tipped her head back, eyes closed in pleasure. She was enjoying this far too much, the feel of his lips on her skin made her weak at the knees.

"Draco, no...we can't! Stop...ohh, no! Draco!" Hermione half-heartedly pushed his face away from her.

The two stood, grasping each other, breathing hard and staring into each other eyes.

"What do you want from me? I can't..we...we can't! My friends..."

"Who cares what Potter and Weasley think? This isn't just physical for me, love. I think you are the most...amazing...woman, that I have ever, and will ever meet. You make me feel like a normal wizard, not an ex-Death Eater. I've done so many things in my life that I regret...and you make me feel like none of it ever happened. Give me something, here Hermione...you know you feel this."

"I care about you, yes. You have changed...but this can't happen...again..."

Draco slowly moved towards her, until her back hit the wall next to her door. He trailed his hands down her arms and smirked at her.

"Don't tell me you don't feel this...electricity..."

Taking her lips with his, he roughly kissed her, gripping her wrists and moving them above her head, holding her arms against the wall. As he kissed her, she moaned into his mouth and pushed the whole length of her body against his. Suddenly, her body stiffened and she pushed him away from her, wiping her mouth and fixing her dress and hair.

"No, Draco. I don't." Hermione muttered as she fixed a smile on her face, and left the room, to go and entertain her guests, leaving Draco alone and annoyed.

"I guess I'll have to make you feel it then, won't I baby?" Draco sneered, smirking.


	6. Revelations

6. Revelations

Hermione appeared in the Common Room of the Head Boy and Girl's living quarters looking elegant as ever, and she immediately began circulating, greeting fellow classmates, and students of the lower years. Among them were Harry and Ron, who had also made the decision to remain at Hogwarts over Christmas – this being their last year, they had realised it would be their last Christmas at Hogwarts, and spending time with friends and loved ones was a good idea in the current time. Hermione breathed deeply in an attempt to clear the red flush from her cheeks, and tapped her best friends on the shoulder. Ron's mouth dropped open at the sight of his best friend in the revealing purple cocktail dress.

"Phwoar 'Mione! Where'd you get that dress from? It's...you're...just...wow!" Ron was beyond coherent.

"I think what he's trying to say is, you look great Hermione. This party was such a good idea, I cant believe you decorated and made food and everything!" Harry coughed, and leaned in to whisper, "Have you seen Ginny? I need to...talk with her."

"She's waiting for you, she said you'd know where. I don't think you should explain what you need to see her for, or Ronald here will probably kill you," Hermione giggled.

Harry kissed Hermione on the cheek, nodded and smiled awkwardly at Ron, who was clearly confused as to what had just happened. After Harry had left, Hermione turned to Ron and explained that Harry wanted some alone time with his girlfriend.

"Oh...you mean...so they can snog? Eww! That's my sister!" Ron was disgusted, but also happy for the pair. After the war, there was no doubt that the golden couple would reunite – and they had spent every last moment outside of classes together, either alone or with the circle of friends they had battled beside and grown to love.

"So, 'Mione...would you like to dance? I can't promise I won't step on your toes," Ron shrugged, "but it'll be fun! Plus I need to talk to you about something."

Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded, taking Ron's hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor. The romantic feelings that had started to surface during her later years at Hogwarts had diminished slightly, and she never really felt any spark between them. Not to say that she didn't love him – but as a best friend only. She really hoped that asking her to dance wasn't a front for asking her out on a date. Things were so busy for Hermione – exams were only a few months away, and her Head Girl duties took up the rest of her time, and there was always...Draco – she couldn't deny her feelings for him, not to herself anyway. Keeping them hidden from other people took up too much time and energy for her to have to deal with Ron's feelings for her.

The music subtly changed to a slow, sensual rhythm, and Hermione awkwardly moved closer into the gangly boy's body. Ron slipped a hand around her waist and turned his head to stare into her eyes.

"Hermione, there's something...really important...that I need to tell you. It's been eating me up for a while, and I know you'll be happy to hear it."

Ron gulped, and continued to sway to the music, pushing Hermione closer to him, and moving his lips to her ear to whisper:

"Well, exams are coming up, and you have your Head Girl duties, and I know that you barely have any spare time...but, Hermione Granger...I just want to say...I'd love if it you'd be my..."

Hermione went pale.

"...Charms tutor. I mean, you can take the extra work – you're Hermione; Super-witch! So, I'm going to let you tutor me for the Charms N.E.W.T in May. I mean, it'd be more of a favour to you, you know I have such a busy schedule what with Quidditch practice with Harry, and learning how to play the guitar that dad found in Muggle London – there's just so much on my plate, but I think I can fit you in! It's not like you have a boyfriend, or many friends that you hang around with, or much of a life outside of working, so I bet you have loads of time that you could make available to me. How brilliant is that! Oh, and Harry and I are going to need you to do the rest of our essays in most subjects until Quidditch season is over."

Ron leaned back from Hermione, grinning, to look at her. He obviously thought that Hermione would be grateful for the chance for some extra study, and that she had the time to fit tutoring him into her schedule. Unfortunately for him, the face looking back at him was not as he had expected. She looked furious.

"If it weren't for the fact that I'm currently hosting a party, and have guests, I'd hex you right here Ronald. What the HELL? I have enough on my plate already thanks! I'm currently writing three Charms essays, none of which are mine funnily enough – they're all yours. And did it escape your attention that I'm also writing your History of Magic, Arithmency, Potions and Herbology essays, and have been doing so all year because you have the intelligence of a potted-plant, and you don't appreciate that I'm just human! I need a break Ron!"

And with that she shoved him away from her body, and stormed out of the room into the small alcove between the common room and her bedroom, leaving Ron incredibly bewildered, alone on the dance floor in the middle of the Common Room. He shrugged, muttered "Girls!" to himself, grabbed a fifth-year Gryffindor girl that had been stalking him all year, and started dancing again.

Hermione felt two strong hands wrap around her waist.

* * *

><p>Draco had been watching the situation between Hermione and Ron unfold from the darkness at the side of the room, fuming silently when he saw Ron wrap his arm around her waist and pull her closer. He hated that boy – how dare he think he was good enough for her! When he noticed him lean into the side of her face, he thought the git was going to kiss her, and he was about to burst out and curse him, when he saw the look on Hermione's face. Ron was telling her something, and it was upsetting her. Casting an Amplifying spell, Draco strained to hear what the ginger boy was saying to the girl he loved.<p>

"_...Charms tutor. I mean, you can take the extra work – you're Hermione; Super-witch! So, I'm going to let you tutor me for the Charms N.E.W.T in May. I mean, it'd be more of a favour to you, you know I have such a busy schedule what with Quidditch practice with Harry, and learning how to play the guitar that dad found in Muggle London – there's just so much on my plate, but I think I can fit you in! It's not like you have a boyfriend, or many friends that you hang around with, or much of a life outside of working, so I bet you have loads of time that you could make available to me. How brilliant is that..."_

Moments later, Hermione came crashing into the shadows beside him, and shut the door loudly behind her. She was breathing heavily and quietly sobbing. Ron had made her cry! He had treated her so badly – expecting her to fall over herself to help him succeed academically. He saw how wonderfully intelligent she was, and rather and feeling proud of her, he saw the advantage to himself, and exploited it. It made Draco suprisingly angry. He'd never felt like this about a girl, and hated the fact that Ron could upset her so much.

Moving closer to her in the pitch-black, Malfoy felt in front of him with his arms, felt the soft material of her dress, and wrapped himself around her tiny waist, pulling her towards his body in an embrace.

"I don't know why he thinks he can treat you like that, Hermione," Draco whispered into her ear, using his hands to caress her back and hold her firmly to his body.

Instinctively, Hermione had tried to pull away, but sensing who it was that was embracing her, and smelling that amazing masculine aroma that he exuded. She let her head fall to his chest and tried to stop crying.

"This doesn't mean I feel anything, Draco, letting you hold me...but...thanks. Ron sometimes doesn't realise that I'm a girl, and a friend of his – he treats lots of his friends like he treats me. I guess I just have to learn to deal with it. I mean, I don't have a life, he's right – I'm a boring, plain girl who spends her whole life with her nose in a book."

Draco pulled Hermione's face around so that their lips were close enough to touch, and even though it was dark, she could feel his piercing gaze.

"Don't ever say that, never! You are the complete opposite of boring, Hermione. You are amazingly intelligent, perhaps too loyal to your friends at times, sexy as hell...did I mention how gorgeous you look tonight? And without a doubt, you are the kindest and most forgiving person I have ever met. I am amazed how you put up with those...disgraceful friends...I don't know how they dare call themselves wizards. If I could, I'd teach them a lesson for treating you like their own personal slave, but I know that would upset you. And I will never upset you."

Hermione's face split into a grin, and the tears that had been flowing freely from her face at how shockingly Ron had talked to her disappeared immediately. She did feel something for this boy...but it was strange, as if he had two different sides – the darker side, with remnants of his cocky, bad boy behaviour from previous years, and the softer side that was becoming more prominent every day.

"What are you saying, Draco?"

"I'm saying that...you're perfect Hermione. Your friends are too blind to see, but you are the – no, my – perfect woman. I've been trying to hold myself back because I know you don't want any of your friends to know that I'm in love with you, but its true. Every time I see you smile, I feel my heart grow a million sizes in my chest, like it's about to burst out through my ribs. And when I see you upset, I want to kill the people that made you that way – I'm not ashamed to say it, Hermione. I would do anything for you. Just give me a chance. I know that most of the time I come across as an arrogant twat, like earlier in your room – but sometimes you just turn me on so much that I can't stand it. And you're so good at containing your feelings, and I don't know what you're thinking..."

Draco's words stunned Hermione. He had never been this honest with her before. It felt like time had stopped, and that there was just the two of them in the whole world. Before he could continue, she placed one finger lightly across his lips, signalling him to be quiet. Draco felt her slip her hand around his neck and draw his head down to hers, and the finger across his lips was quickly replaced by her moist, warm lips. She kissed him once, slowly and tenderly, before pulling away and taking his hand.

"Come with me," she said breathlessly, leading him to some stairs in the corner of the room which he'd never seen before.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere I've never taken anyone else before."

Minutes later, Draco was standing beside Hermione on a small balcony set high above the Head's Common Room, facing out across the lake and the rest of the grounds of Hogwarts. The view was spectacular, and the night sky shone with hundreds of stars.

"I brought you here, because I want to explain something to you. I come here when I need to get perspective on life. See how there are so many stars in the sky?" Hermione squeezed Draco's hand, and laughed at how amazed he was at the view.

"Well, there's so many stars that sometimes it's hard to concentrate on just one. Like all the people, all the things in my life. For example, there's Harry and Ron, my family, Ron's family, all my friends at Hogwarts, and my friends in the Order. That would be one group of stars. Then there's schoolwork, essays, exams, revision. That's another group."

Draco was listening intently, but had no idea where she was taking this.

"But sometimes, among all of these little things, like these stars, you come across one that shines brighter than most, one that takes up more space in the sky – it might just be one star but it shines so much brighter than the others that it blots them out. Like that star there..." Hermione pointed at a constellation directly in front of them in the night sky, which contained one very bright star. Draco noticed how it did indeed pull the focus from the others surrounding it.

"Well, you Draco...you're one of the brightest stars in my life at the moment. I didn't want to admit it, but you are. And when I spend time with you, I forget about everything else. And that's amazing. You make me feel safe, and I feel more confident, more attractive, and more courageous around you. And when you touch me, its like the rest of the stars don't exist, and never did."

Draco turned his body to face her, and smiled.

"But you don't want me to blot out the other stars in your life...?" Draco let his head drop in defeat. "You're thinking that if you date me, your friends and family will want nothing to do with you? So you don't want anything from me at all..."

Hermione sighed. "Actually...I do. It's just, I've spent so much time dealing with every little thing in my life, that I failed to notice my feelings for you, and how great they are. And I forgot that I'm one of those stars too – I don't make time for myself anymore. I spend all my time and effort making other people happy, so, for years, I've not realised that I want more than that. Nobody appreciates me, and I'm done with that."

A light breeze swept around the pair, who were staring into each others eyes and smiling.

"I don't want to tell my friends anything right now, and I'm not saying yes for sure, but I'm tired of ignoring you and avoiding the truth, Draco. The past few months, becoming your friend and spending time with you, has been so wonderful. Now will you just kiss me?"

The Head Boy smirked, and pulled the Head Girl, the only girl for him, towards him, then pushed her back against the wall, his hand behind her head, and crushed his lips to hers.

He parted her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth, massaging her tongue with his.

He pulled away from her and raised an eyebrow at the heavily-breathing girl in his arms.

"Does that mean I get a shag soon then?"

A light smack on the chest and a flirtatious giggle answered the question for him.

"You had to ruin the moment didn't you, you sod! This doesn't mean I'm going to make things easy for you! You still have to take me out, and woo me, Draco!"

He huffed, and leaned forward to nibble on her earlobe.

"But I thought this meant I got to take you back to my room and see how good that dress really looks...on my bedroom floor..."

The sensation of him sucking and biting her earlobe and neck, the hot and heavy breathing that was tickling her neck, and the feeling of his hands wandering up to her breasts made Hermione weak at the knees, but she resisted, and pushed him away softly.

"See you later Draco, I'm going back to the party."

Draco was left on the balcony, laughing at how he'd underestimated her ability to leave him wanting more. He was going to work hard to get her, and keep her. Sighing, he returned down the stairs to the party and the rest of his guests.

Below the balcony, there was a rustling in the bushes. Two people were standing close together, staring up at the empty space on the balcony that, only moments before, had been occupied by the unlikely couple of Hermione and Draco, clearly sharing an emotional romantic moment.

"Did you see that, Ginny? Or did I just dream that?" Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose, unsure if he had just imagined what he had seen.

"Yeah...let's not tell anyone, Harry. We don't know the whole story." Ginny wanted Hermione to be happy, and even though Draco seemed a strange choice.

"Don't worry, I'll get the whole story. Believe me." Harry was angry – not that Hermione had feelings for Draco, but that she hadn't told him – after all they'd been through, did she not trust him at all?


	7. The Girl of His Dreams

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Read and review - I really need to know what you guys think of the whole story, the chapters, the character development etc. as it helps me to write and develop my writing ability (or lack of :P ). So if all of you that read this just give me a few words of criticism/compliment/whatever I would very much appreciate it. I hope you enjoy!

7. The Girl of His Dreams

Over the Christmas holidays, Hogwarts was a very quiet place. The house tables in the Great Hall were replaced with one longer table which meant that all the students mixed together, Gryffindors, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all mixed together as one.

Most students spent their days catching up with work and hanging around with any remaining friends.

Hermione had spent all day working, she was sat on her huge king-sized four-poster bed with lots of parchment, used quills and textbooks which were lying open at pages where wizards were moving around, depicting battles and great magical discoveries. Hermione was deep in concentration, her hair pulled back into a messy bun and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. As she had been working for a long time that day, she had gotten up that morning, showered and put on some lounge clothes – a grey pair of sweat pants, and a purple extra-large jumper which she pulled down over one shoulder.

She was just reading about the Great Troll Rebellion of 1457 when there was a knock at her door. Reaching for her wand, Hermione muttered an incantation and the door swung open, not once looking up from her work.

Draco was stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe and looking devilishly handsome in a simple pair of black jeans and a dark green v-neck jumper. Hermione looked up from her work and was immediately distracted by how delicious he looked. He was very tall, Hermione remembered that when he had kissed her, she had to stretch up to meet his face as he leaned slightly down towards her. As Draco pushed off of the doorframe and started to walk towards her, he consciously tensed his muscular arms, hardened by years of intense Quidditch training. He paused at the foot of her bed, and offered her the rose he was holding.

"Hermione, its 9pm. You need to stop working! And I made you dinner...its our first date...like you wanted. Do you like your rose? Each colour means a different thing."

"Yellow...doesn't that mean friendship? That's so sweet Draco..." Hermione closed her eyes as she took in the amazing smell of the rose.

"But the tips are red, which means friendship progressing into love. You look amazing by the way." Draco placed his hands on either side of her hips and leaned into her body, as Hermione leaned back on her arms. He brushed her neck with light kisses as she sighed contentedly.

"We don't have to have dinner though, if you don't want...I mean there's always dessert we could move on to. I've heard that Head Girl with whipped cream is a delicacy around these parts..." Draco looked her straight in the eye and raised one eyebrow suggestively.

* * *

><p>When Hermione had seen how much time Draco had spent preparing the dinner for them, she felt her heart expand. He had cooked the whole thing by hand – 3 delicate courses, all done the non-magical way, as he knew how she felt about mistreating the house-elves, and he thought the brownie points he'd accumulate from this act of self-sacrifice would be huge. She enjoyed each course thoroughly – although he had never been taught how to cook without a wand before, he had a natural flair for it, and she decided this was to be the first of many meals they would share in the Common Room together.<p>

Draco had dimmed the lights in the room, and placed some large scented candles around the room, and started a large roaring fire in the fireplace. They spent the entire mealtime discussing what their hopes for the future were – Hermione wanted to graduate with high grades and then progress onto a job in the Ministry of Magic, leading up to a position in the Legal department, where she hoped to make a difference in the treatment of non-pureblood wizards, a sore subject for her. Her eyes teared up when she talked about the lengths she had gone to to protect her parents just because of her background. Draco hated to see her so upset, and he took her hand firmly, and with the other hand, lifted her head to look him in the eyes.

"Don't give up hope. You're an intelligent woman. And I have faith that you will find a way to restore their memories. Now forget about everything, and let me give you a present, okay?"

Hermione smiled, wiped her eyes and let him lead her to the sofa. Anxiously, she sat down next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, cradling her to his body. He flicked his wand towards the chest of drawers in the corner of the room, the middle drawer opened, and a small package flew towards the couple. It was a small, green velvet box with a silver clasp. She took the box, floating midair in front of her, and, hands shaking as she was so nervously anticipating what the gift was, opened it.

A dainty silver chain necklace lay in the box, reflecting the light from the candles and shining at the end of the chain was a glistening, brilliant diamond. Hermione smiled as she realised the diamond had been shaped into a star.

"So you can remember that you are a beautiful shining star."

Hermione let the handsome Slytherin reach around her to fasten the necklace around her neck, and then placed two hands on his broad chest, gripping his jumper tightly, and reached up to his lips. She parted them gently with hers and kissed him sweetly, lightly sweeping her tongue against his, tipping her head back as Draco pushed her down onto the sofa. She bent her leg and slid it round his waist, pulling their bodies closer together, moaning into his lips as she felt his fingers brush the hot skin of her stomach.

Draco was thorougly enjoying how intense this kiss had become. He was breathing heavily and thinking how she would react if he took things further. Biting the bullet, he slid his hands up from her stomach, lifting her onto his lap so that she was straddling him, and ran his fingers underneath her thin jumper, skimming over her naked skin. He felt himself harden as he realised she was bra-less, and immediately Hermione pulled back from the kiss, wide-eyed and panting.

"I think it's probably time for bed now, Draco – there's a lot of work that needs doing in the morning." She leaned into his chest and kissed up his neck to the sensitive spot below his ear that made him moan. Between kisses she whispered, "Best first date ever."

And with that, she kissed him goodnight, and went into her room.

Draco sat, rock hard, on the sofa. He chuckled and looked down at the distinct bulge. "And what am I supposed to do with that?"

* * *

><p>In the Head Boy's room later that night, Draco was struggling to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he had the usual nightmares – having to watch Hermione being tortured by his Aunt Bellatrix, seeing the Dark Lord torturing his mother, his father, himself. He felt beads of sweat forming as he tried desperately to sleep, but in the end he gave up. He needed some company. As silent as possible, he slipped out of bed, pulled on some long black sleeping trousers, and left the room. The Common Room was scarily dark, so he swiftly crossed it, and cast a silencing charm on the door to Hermione's room – he didn't want it to creak and wake her.<p>

Hermione was laid on her side underneath many layers of bedclothes – tonight was a cold night, and she refused to cast warming spells on her room. She wanted to survive the Muggle way. Draco slipped into the bed beside her, and blew lightly on her ear. Hermione murmured something and turned around in bed so that she ended up lying closer to the boy now in her bed. Draco leant down to her shoulder, and nibbled the skin lightly, sliding his hand around to her stomach and caressing the soft, tantalising skin just above her pants. She woke slowly, confused as to who was in bed with her. Draco pressed his lips to hers briefly, and whispered her name urgently.

"Draco? What's wrong? Why are you in my bed? Am I awake?"

Draco moaned and slid his hand further up her body, cupping a beautiful, round breast. He rubbed her nipple slowly with his thumb and heard her sigh in pleasure.

"I'm here because I need you so badly, baby. I just want you now, but I'm willing to wait. But I still want to show you what I can do, so that it makes you understand how tantalising it is for me to wait."

Draco began to rub her harder, and with his other hand, he stroked her lower back, sliding his hand beneath her shorts, and into her panties, to squeeze her small pert butt. Hermione's sigh became louder and Draco took that as a good sign, and pulled off her jumper, quickly taking her hard nipple in his mouth and licking it whilst sliding his fingers over her stomach, and down to her panties. Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled it back up to her breast, and Draco pulled his head away from her chest, confused.

"Trust me, you're going to have the time of your life, baby. Let me show you."

Hermione wasn't sure what to do – this was the furthest she'd ever been with a boy – and she could feel herself becoming wetter and warmer between her legs. She felt as though she was being pulled towards him, and so she took his hand under hers and guided him down beneath her panties, and gasped as she felt his fingers against her warmth. He slowly slid his fingers into her, deeper and deeper, making the heat rise in her body, and making her breathe more loudly against his mouth as he roughly massaged her tongue with his. Hermione felt her body melting and her tightness clench against his fingers as he slid more inside of her.

"Are you ok?" Draco's voice sounded so far away, but Hermione simply moaned and took his mouth with hers again, taking her hand down to his and encouraging him to go deeper. After a few minutes she got into the rhythm of it more and, feeling his hardness pressed against her, she began to writhe her hips against his, knowing that she was turning him on more and more as the time passed. She hated that she had let him go further, but loved him for making her – her head was full of images of the pair of them naked, clasped to each other and making love. She imagined the muscular curves of his body and the strength contained in his arms, his chest, his shoulders...with every image, every stroke she came closer to her climax, and Draco sighed and smiled as he felt her clench around him and her moaning become louder than ever.

"How was..."

"Amazing, Draco...wasn't that clear enough?" Hermione giggled as she collapsed back onto the bed, her entire body buzzing from the feel of her first orgasm. Never before had she felt so wanted and sexual. She frowned as Draco sat up, as if to leave.

"Where are you going?"

Draco stopped and turned to her. "I thought you'd be annoyed with me for taking things further before you're ready, and I figured you'd want me to leave."

"Stay, please."

The half-naked girl pulled his hand back towards the bed and lifted the duvet, inviting him in. He smiled and obliged, lying next to her and holding her to his body firmly. He stroked the skin of her bare back and kissed her neck softly as he felt her fall asleep, and soon after he joined her.

That night he slept peacefully, with the girl of his dreams beside her.


	8. New Territory

A/N – Hey guys, I'm so sorry about how long it's taking me to update these stories, got a bit of writer's block at the moment and I'm really busy with work etc. I really would like as much feedback as possible, I don't want this to turn out to be a standard Draco-Hermione love story. So please if you have any time after you finish reading, please review!

8. New Territory

Draco Malfoy woke in his usual room a few mornings after his late-night rendezvous with Hermione feeling rested and happy, for once. His nightmares had been shorter and less vivid, and he no longer woke screaming or crying. He had written to his mother to ensure she was safe, and had received a reply by owl very quickly, a gushing, heartfelt apology for abandoning him when his father had been sent to Azkaban. Draco, however, missed his old school friends. He had Hermione now, but he still missed the boys he used to spend his days around Hogwarts with.

With an energetic leap, Draco got out of his four-poster, silk-covered bed, and began his morning exercise. Twenty press-ups, followed by pull-ups on a silver bar he magically suspended in the middle of the room. After a quick rinse in the shower, he dressed and headed out of his room, noticing that Hermione was still in her room, studying no doubt.

For the first time that term, he felt himself following his usual route down to the dungeons, and once he was in the common room, he was welcomed back to his old haunt by his remaining friends, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson's older brother, Picillius. The two strapping Slytherins were on the Quidditch team with Draco, and had also been up all morning doing their exercise rituals to maintain their fitness for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw.

"Long time no see, Malfoy! How's it going up there? Granger driving you crazy yet?" Zabini flashed his gorgeous white smile and winked – he was the only one who Draco had confided in about his feelings for Hermione. Unlike Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's old friends, Zabini's family had been impartial during the war, and so had survived with no losses or battle scars. He still had friends in Hogwarts.

"Well, you could say that Blaise, you could say that. She's got us doing patrols every night – she thinks the third years are getting experimental, and to be honest we have caught a few couples getting a bit frisky in the astronomy tower recently. If only they knew the places we used to go, eh?"

Draco and Blaise laughed together, and began recounting previous conquests – Draco had normally stuck to Slytherin girls, and had only slept with a couple during his time at school, but Blaise had a much wider perspective and had learnt to appreciate all of the female specimens at Hogwarts. He, also, had not been very far with the girls at school, and currently had no girlfriend, although, as Draco liked to tease him about, Pansy Parkinson had taken a new liking to him since moving on from Draco.

"Oi, you git! That's my sister you're talking about...actually, what am I talking about...she is a bit of a slut to be honest. Serves her right." Parkinson laughed and slapped Draco hard on the back. "Now what's this I've heard about you, Malfoy? There's rumours going around the castle that you're a taken man, and that you've been seen in Hogsmeade buying jewellery and roses...is there a new girl...or boy," He got a punch in the ribs for that, but continued, "..on the scene?"

Draco smirked, and considered telling Parkinson about his relationship, or lack of, that had been developing with Hermione. She still refused to be seen out in public with him in anything other than their Head Boy and Girl duties, and even when they were in private, she was too busy working or sorting out new patrol routes for them to make out, or anything more. He knew she liked him, and that he made her feel the way no other boy had done before, but she was obviously scared of something.

"Even if I had a new...conquest, shall we say...why do you think I'd tell you, Picky? You're as bad as your sister for gossiping and exaggerating stories. I'm a free man, for now anyway. What about you?"

The conversation moved on from girls to sports, but eventually Draco realised he wasn't concentrating on his friends, he was thinking about Hermione and what she meant to him. Were they together? Were they just fooling around? Everytime they patrolled the corridors he would try to take her hand, and she would blush and slide her hand away. Once, on the third floor, he had pushed her behind a statue of Thalius the Tempestuous, and softly kissed her, but she had muttered something about being spotted by a teacher, and had dragged him out of the alcove.

"Lads, I have to be somewhere. Quidditch practice tomorrow morning, early? I'll meet you on the pitch, you look like you need a good thrashing on the brooms."

And with that, he stalked out of the room and ran all the way through the castle until he was standing outside Hermione's door. After a few minutes, he opened it and walked into her room, walked up to her, sat on the floor with various pieces of parchment spread around her, and stood looking at her.

"What's wrong, Draco? Do we have to patrol? Professor McGonagall said we could have this weekend off didn't she?"

Draco had become very angry on his journey up from the dungeons, he was angry at himself for falling for her when she clearly didn't want him enough, and he was angry at her. She had made him fall for her.

"Yeah, something's wrong...I think...I'm..falling in love with you, Granger. And, by Merlin, you don't seem to give a shit."

Hermione was lost for words, her mouth hung open and she dropped the quill she'd been writing with. She blinked a few times, staring at him still, and with a sigh, she lay back on the floor.

"So...that's what's wrong. And that's all I have to say. I'm not going to keep forcing you to speak to me, to touch me, to kiss me...when you clearly have no interest in doing it for yourself. I just wanted to clear the air."

He turned slowly to begin his walk back to his room, where no doubt he would be miserable and blow something up to make himself feel better.

"You know, I never said I didn't want you," Hermione said in a quiet voice. Draco felt her hand slide into his. She pulled him down to the ground and moved to kneel in front of him. Her eyes were down at the ground, and she looked upset.

"Then tell me what you do want."

"We used to hate each other, Draco. You were a bully and a tease, and then you were literally my enemy. I've duelled you before, and your aunt tortured me, and I was never your family's biggest fan. Your whole life has been spent hating me, and mine hating you. So to see how much you've changed, and experience it first hand, its so alien to me. I feel all these things for you that I never expected to feel. You make me feel warm and soft and happy and sad and miserable and excited and...sexy, all at the same time. I don't want to even begin to think about what Harry and Ron and Ginny would say if they found out about these feelings, and so I've been trying to bottle them, a little...because you and I...it's just not practical."

Draco gulped and held back an angry comment about Ron and Harry and how she shouldn't care what they think, and before he could speak, Hermione was on top of him, kissing him and clinging to him hard. She wrapped her thighs around his hips, and stroked her hands up his body and began unbuttoning his shirt. Then she leaned back, straddling him and smiling.

"But you know what I realised last night? I had a dream about us, about you kissing me, and you holding me, and you...making love to me. And I dreamed about being with you, and I thought...to hell with it. My friends will have to deal with it. But I'm going to need time to explain everything. I want you, Draco."

These words were the ones Draco had been dying to hear for months, and having finally heard them from her, he felt his heart swell in his chest.

"I love you, Draco."

"I love you too."

Moments later, Hermione leaned forwards to his toned, alabaster chest and began showering it with kisses. She felt him harden between her legs and immediately she knew this was it – she wanted him now. She removed her grey jumper quickly and began to rock her hips against his stiffness.

"Baby, what are you doing? You know if you keep doing that it'll go off." Draco smirked. He leaned up and slid his hands beneath her vest, pulling it up and off to reveal her gorgeous, shapely breasts.

"I'm trying to seduce my boyfriend, if that's ok..." Hermione smirked at him and pulled him up off of the floor, flicking her wand at the curtains to close them, and unzipping his jeans as she lead him towards the bed. He took the initiative and removed her shorts, then cupped her breasts and licked the warm, soft flesh as they fell onto the bed.

"Take me Draco...I want you now."

And Draco stared into her eyes, knowing this was just the beginning.


	9. On the Down-Low

A/N - Hey everyone, if you are still reading this after the whole YEAR it's taken me to update it, then I thank you, and apologise for the amount of time it has taken to write another chapter. I will try my best to keep updating, and again, sorry for the year+ delay! I hope you enjoy, please R + R so I can make this story better, I really hope you like the direction I'm taking with the story.

9. On the Down-Low

There was something different about Hogwarts this Valentine's Day - normally the whole school was decorated with hearts and cupids flying around annoying people with love notes from their admirers. However, this year Professor McGonagall had taken a different approach - she was using the day to commemorate those who had passed in the Great War. Along with the usual pink and red hearts which were strewn around the school randomly, she had charmed some old pictures of the deceased into heart-shapes and made them float above the dining tables in the Great Hall, pictures of people with their families and loved ones, looking happy. She thought it would be a good way to pick up morale on the day, as people were obviously not enjoying it as they usually did.

Draco and Hermione had been secretly dating for nearly a month, but things had not progressed very far (they had made love once but Hermione had regretted her rash decision - she had always thought she would save her virginity for the love of her life, and though her feelings for Draco were strong and she knew she loved him, she wished she had held on a little longer). They were however much closer as friends; he had taught her how to control herself better on the broomstick, and she in turn had been helping him with his charms, a subject which he had always struggled in.

This Valentine's Day, Hogwarts was to be the host to Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute (which had taken a huge decrease in student numbers due to the association of many of the students with Death Eater families - they were now deceased, kidnapped, on the run with their families or too ashamed to attend school anymore), as a show of solidarity within the wizarding world. Headmistress McGonagall had decided it would bring the schools closer together and promote a healthy attitude towards inter-school friendships, as everyone needed the support from friends at the moment. The Beauxbatons ladies were to be staying in the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory now that renovations were complete and the Durmstrang boys were to be housed comfortably in the Room of Requirement.

The arrival of the Durmstrang boys set a flutter in the heart of most of the Hogwarts' girls, and Hermione was not immune to their charms. She had once had a casual flirtation with Viktor Krum, a famous Quidditch player who had attended the boys' wizarding school, and had been in touch with him for years since then. He had invited himself to see her numerous times, but Hermione had always found excuses, finding it hard to control herself around him. He had a way with words and, as far as she could remember, was excellent at kissing. He had graduated from Durmstrang a couple of years before and since then had started teaching Quidditch at the school, as well as still playing internationally for the Bulgarian national team, for which he was known world-wide.

Hermione was nearly finished in the shower one evening when she heard the bathroom door open into the Head's bathroom, and assuming it was Draco, she continued, unable to see through the frosted glass to check. She was humming her favourite song by the Weird Sisters, and letting the warm water drip down her back, eyes closed. Suddenly she heard the sound of the huge bathtub being filled in the bathroom, and laughed as she imagined Draco lowering himself in the frothy water. She decided to join him to celebrate Valentine's Day, so she grabbed her wand from the pocket of her jeans and flicked it at the lights, lowering them to a romantic flicker. She promptly scurried across the room and lowered herself into the water, trying to find Draco in the foam.

A pair of muscular shoulders appeared in front of her in the dark, and pulling them towards her, Hermione rubbed her hands up and down the length of Draco's strong back, noticing that he had been working out much more than usual by the tense architecture she was feeling. She heard a deep moan as she continued massaging his back and so she began to softly kiss the bottom of his neck, working round to the front where his stubble interrupted her train of thought….

Hold on….Draco doesn't have stubble…

"Vell, isn't this a nice velcome back to 'ogvarts! 'Ello, my dear 'Er-mionee, I 'ave missed you so!"

Hermione's scream would have been heard across the castle, if Viktor had not pressed his mouth to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling their naked bodies together under the water and pushing Hermione up against the wall of the bathtub. Hermione couldn't help but think, for a second, that she really needed to start taking a glance at who she was joining in the bath from now on - after all, the first time this had happened with Draco she had been taken by surprise as well. Forgetting about Draco altogether after this brief thought, Hermione surrendered to Viktor's warm lips and stroked her hands up his huge biceps, before realising what she was doing and pushing him away.

"Viktor! Get off me, stop! No.."

Viktor pulled away from the angry Gryffindor slowly, frowning and looking extremely puzzled.

"I thought you vere enjoying that, 'Er-mionee, my love. I vas told to come and use this bath to vash up before bedtime, but I vas hoping to see you as vell. I have missed you…" Viktor said between the kisses he was placing up and down Hermione's neck.

Not knowing what to do, Hermione concentrated all of her will on thoughts of Draco, and what it would do to him if he was here to see this. She shoved against Viktor with all of her might, feeling his toned physique and bulging manhood against her body, and despite the urge she felt down below, managed to push him away long enough to scamper out of the bath and grab her towel, covering up her nakedness and collapsing on the floor of the bathroom.

"Viktor, I can't do that with you, I know we used to make-out sometimes when you were here for the tournament years ago, but I can't now…"

"But vhy? I have asked Potter and Veasley, and they say you are not seeing anyone, and I know you like me - you have been replying to my letters for years….I have been looking forward to seeing you, and bettering my English so that we could be together now…"

The Quidditch player lifted himself out of the water, with only bubbles to cover his modesty, and made his way over to Hermione, who was gripping the side of the sink tightly to control herself. Viktor could see that she had grown into a much more womanly shape since he had last seen her, and he could feel himself hardening more and more as he looked her up and down. He could feel the animal attraction between the two of them, as though they were magnets drawn together, and so he lifted her up onto the sink, gripping her backside firmly and pulling her into his groin so she could feel what she was doing to him.

Hermione should have stopped him, but having opened the flood-gates with her session with Draco weeks before, she was struggling to control herself. She had always had a thing for Viktor, and even though she loved Draco, she had once loved Viktor. In a moment of weakness, Hermione reached down between herself and Viktor, feeling his manhood, as hard as a rock, and groaning at his passion for her. Hearing him moan and grunt her name erased all thoughts of Draco from her mind, and so she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him roughly, thinking of nothing but him, feeling nothing but him.

She knew what she was about to do was wrong, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to feel this magnetism, this electricity, and take it further. She pushed him back, and dropped her towel, seeing him grin and bite his lip at the sight of her. With another flick of her wand, she locked both of the doors to the bathroom, and she slid into the water, beckoning him to join her.

Viktor was in heaven. He loved this girl, but right now that love was pure lust and he wanted to have her, so he swam across to her, taking her in his arms and parting her legs, wrapping them around his hips and guiding himself to her entrance. He teased her softly and savoured the moment, knowing that soon he would have his heart's desire. Hermione was hot and bothered, and wanting to wait no longer, she lowered herself onto Viktor and shivered with the feeling it gave her - completely unlike anything else she had felt before.

Hours later, the pair lay intertwined on the floor of the bathroom, hearts pounding and smiles wide across their faces. Viktor had planned on surprising Hermione, but in return she had surprised him. He never knew that her need for him would be this great.

"Viktor?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes, 'Er-mionee?"

"We need to keep this a secret, if that's ok? I don't know how I would explain this to my friends, and I need to think things through myself…"

"Of course, my beautiful 'Er-mionee…but I hope you are not ashamed? Ve have been in love for years, haven't ve? I have thought of nobody else, and vanted nobody else as much as I vant you."

Hermione blushed and smiled, then immediately felt her heart sink. Draco! She loved him too. She had cheated on him, only weeks after admitting her love for him. She quickly gathered her clothes and dressed, not bearing to look at herself in the mirror, or at the gorgeous man laying on the floor, staring up at her, confused at her sudden departure.

"Vere are you going? I thought ve vould make love again?"

She stumbled over at his words, and pressed her wand to her chest, hating herself. She wished there was some spell to rewind time and stop her actions of the last couple of hours, as amazing as it had been. She had been caught up in her feelings for Viktor, and forgotten about her current love for Draco.

"Let's meet up later, to talk, okay? And in the meantime, let's just keep this on the down-low…."

Draco was completing his evening exercise routine to rest his muscles after the day's long Quidditch practice, when he saw Hermione enter the common room and lean against the door, oblivious to his presence. He sneaked up behind her and grabbed her around the waist, twisting her around and pinning her against the door, rubbing his tense, warm body against hers to show her how much he had missed her since that morning.

"Well hello there, Miss Granger. You're glowing rather nicely this evening, what have you been up to? I hope nothing too strenuous, because I have a fun evening planned for us, seeing as it's Valentine's Day, and I was hoping you would be making-out with me for at least part of the evening." Draco leant into her neck, smelling a new perfume on her, and kissed her in the tender spot below her right ear.

Hermione responded as she normally did, and giggled, but Draco could tell that her heart wasn't in it. He let her go, and revealed the rest of the room which he had decorated with flowers and candles, with a lovely dinner set down on the table in the middle of the room for her. Draco's heart plummeted as he noticed Hermione's eyes beginning to tear up, and not in a good way. She ran into her bedroom, slamming the door and throwing herself on the bed, spending the rest of the evening hating herself while Draco grabbed his broom and started flying around the castle to burn off his anger.

He had no idea what had gone wrong, but he knew that something was different. In only a few weeks, he had chased Hermione off. She loved him, or used to, but something was wrong. Something she wasn't telling him.


End file.
